by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
When the Foley & Lardner law firm moved out of the Greenleaf Building last weekend, the building became completely vacant for the first time in over 25 years.
Now the firm’s partners — they’ve owned the building and the property since 1985 — are exploring what can be done with it or if they should sell.
Originally valued at $90,000, today improvements alone are worth an estimated $2.5 million.
“It really is a wonderful and historic building that obviously has a lot of appeal,” said Foley managing partner Charles Hedrick. “We’re in the process of figuring out what to do, but we definitely want to make sure it still serves some purpose downtown.”
Hedrick said former Foley partner Mitchell Legler has been leading those efforts for some time. Legler, who recently started his own practice, retains part-ownership of the building.
“As I understand it, Mitch has actually been talking to four or five interested groups about it,” he said. “We’re looking forward to seeing if anything comes from those discussions.”
Legler could not be reached for comment and Hedrick declined to name the interested parties.
However, he and Foley partner Kevin Hyde said a boutique hotel “would be the ideal arrangement.”
“I think that would be great, really fantastic,” said Hyde. “I think there could be a market for something like that here. I’ve actually stayed in something similar to what we’re talking about and it was quite a unique experience.
“I could see it as something that wouldn’t be too touristy, maybe. I see it as appealing to traveling professionals.”
Office development offers are also under discussion, but before any deal is inked, Hedrick said the building may need “some substantial work,” depending on who moves in.
“That’s part of the reason we eventually opted to relocate our offices,” he said. “It’s a great building, but certain tenants might have to do more than simply refurbish it.”
Earlier this year, Hyde said renovations to the building’s two elevators would cost upwards of a $1 million.